Peter Pocklington
Peter Pocklington | |
|---|---|
Pocklington in 1983 | |
| Born | November 18, 1941 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Owner of the Edmonton Oilers from 1976 to 1998 |
| Spouse | Eva |
Peter Hugh Pocklington (born November 18, 1941) is a Canadian entrepreneur.
Peter Pocklington was known among North American hockey fans as "Peter Puck", an entrepreneur from oil-rich Alberta who was also the owner of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Edmonton Oilers from 1976 to 1998, running the team during its dynasty years from 1983 to 1990. He earned the enmity of many Canadians when he traded hockey's greatest player, Wayne Gretzky, to the Los Angeles Kings.
A vocal advocate of free-market capitalism, Pocklington had various business interests throughout his career. Outside sports, his best-known venture was his tenure as owner of a meatpacking plant in Edmonton, where he became embroiled in a bitter labour dispute in 1986.
Pocklington's life experiences were extensively documented in the 2009 biography, I'd Trade Him Again: On Gretzky, Politics and the Pursuit of the Perfect Deal, written by Terry McConnell and J'lyn Nye. The book's title was inspired by Pocklington's ongoing conviction the Gretzky trade was the right deal at the right time and had a positive impact on all parties concerned: the Oilers, the Kings, Gretzky, and the game itself.